Battle of *Susanoo* (Please Vote!)

Pitter-patter...

A curtain of rain shrouded the world. Amid the dense fog, all of Kirigakure flickered in and out of view, seeming almost unreal.

Suddenly, a gray messenger gull shot through the rain like an arrow and landed atop the Mizukage Building.

A ninja from Kirigakure's communications division swiftly removed the Scroll tied to the messenger gull's leg, then rushed to Mei Terumi, who had remained behind at the Mizukage Building, and presented the intelligence Scroll urgently delivered from the shinobi continent.

After undoing the seal on the Scroll, Mei Terumi gave it a quick glance. Her expression immediately changed drastically as she said to Ao, who stood at her side, "Quick, gather everyone! We must head to Bird Crossing Island at once!"

Ao asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Mei Terumi's face was frosty. "We may have been played by Danzo. That man was never cornered—he's now a complete monster! The leader of Akatsuki and Kumogakure's A-B Combination both fell to him in succession. His coming to Kirigakure this time is most likely because he has his sights set on the Fourth Mizukage!"

Ao took the intelligence Scroll Mei Terumi handed over and glanced at it, his face immediately turning grim. "Damn it! We absolutely cannot let him succeed!"

The Mizukage, the leader of a village, having been secretly controlled by Akatsuki and reduced to a puppet was already Kirigakure's greatest humiliation. If Danzo repeated the same trick now, Kirigakure's dignity would truly be trampled into the mud.

Inside the underground palace on Bird Crossing Island.

The gloomy surroundings did nothing to hinder Danzo's keen eyes. He examined the Fourth Mizukage standing silently at the deepest point of the underground palace and confirmed his identity from the Three-Tails chakra emanating from him.

"You dared meet me alone. Should I